Pain before pleasure as traffic snarls clog Western Expressway

The construction of Sahar elevated road has added to the traffic woes of those travelling on the Western Express Highway in the Santa Cruz area, with about two lanes on the south-bound stretch blocked for traffic movement owing to construction work. The traffic police said the diversions will continue to be in place for at least two more months.

When ready, the road will provide direct connectivity between the WEH and Terminal T2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

“We have created a diversion on a 100-metre stretch just after the Andheri flyover. The construction work began on Monday and is expected to culminate by May-end. However, we have made the service road running alongside available for traffic movement during peak hours to reduce congestion,” said PP Temkar, senior inspector, Vakola traffic outpost.

Though the authorities say traffic movement won’t be affected much by the construction activity, commuters complained it has aggravated the traffic situation during morning peak hours.

Atul Amode, a 25-year-old marketing executive, said, “If you look at countries abroad, most conduct their road construction at night when the traffic density is at least 70% lower. I do not understand why the same policy is not implemented here when the vehicular density and consequent congestion is much more than several other metros in the world.”

Vidisha Jain, a 23-year-old MBA student, said, “I do understand that we should look at the long-term development plans behind this two-month long inconvenience. But I really think that the MMRDA and the traffic police must together come up with a plan that will also ensure commuter convenience.”